Star profile
HIP 16489
Northern polar starWhat is HIP 16489
It dwells in Cepheus, the northern constellation that quietly circles the celestial pole, about 336 light years away. Its light set out around 1690, when John Flamsteed was charting the sky from Greenwich and Locke was publishing his treatises on human understanding. A G-type star, a close cousin of the Sun in color and temperature, carrying a familiar, recognisable gold. Its kindly glow seems to extend, into the deep north, the idea of a serene solar light.
Where it is and when to see it
HIP 16489 lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is December: the Sun sits at the opposite point of the sky and the star culminates around midnight. How high it climbs above the horizon depends on the latitude you watch from.
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The signature wall
Stelvia's sky works like a signature wall: anyone can leave their name and a message on a real star, and that signature goes up on the map for everyone to read. Signing is free.
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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.
Astronomical data for HIP 16489
- Constellation
- Cepheus
- Apparent magnitude
- 5.62
- Distance
- 336.3 light years
- Coordinates (J2000)
- RA 53.082° · Dec 84.911°
- Catalogue
- HIP 16489 · HD 20084
A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.
Other stars in Cepheus
Cepheus has 95 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.
- AlderaminAlpha Cepheus2.45
- ErraiGamma Cepheus3.21
- AlfirkBeta Cepheus3.23
- HIP 1157705.60
- HIP 56265.60
- HIP 1128645.61
- HIP 1046425.64
- HIP 3795.68